Welcome Alexa Nicole Demas

Alexa Nicole Demas entered the world last Sunday - May 24th weighing 7 lbs, 5 ozs. She is absolutely adorable and precious. Jessa & John are doing well - getting in sleep while they can. Congratulations to the Demas family.

Relay For Life

The Relay for Life is a fundraising event that celebrates the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back to kick this disease in the ass. My cousin Chrissy (pictured below) is a cancer survivor and was helping to run the event at Peter's Township. We all came to support her and many others (including my mom - who is a breast cancer survivor). One of the events is the Survivor & Caregiver Lap and Luminaria Ceremony at sun down. It was a very emotional moment as we circled the track reading the names on the luminarias of those who have battled or have lost to the disease. If you would like to donate - go to https://www.cancer.org/docroot/don/don_1_Donate_Online_Now.asp?from=hpbutton

These Faces Make Me Melt

One of the joys of coming into Pittsburgh is getting to see my Goddaughter Alana and nephew Gavin. When I arrived at Dave & Ellen's house, Alana welcomed me by giving me all her stuffed animals, books & toys (one by one) until you couldn't see the carpet. We played with her Gymbo puppet & then she showed me her ballet plie & her arabesque. She says, "I do plie," and "I do arabesque." She is also repeating everything you say. Gavin has lots of expressions and is so pleasant. For 3 months he is a big boy though (looks like a 6 month old).

It breaks my heart to leave knowing I won't get to see them for another few months. I love them so much.

Clyde Turns 1

Clyde is my cousin Lisa & Matt's son and Clyde and Lisa came up from Austin to celebrate is big day. We missed Matt, but he is working in Oklahoma on a new movie and couldn't make it. This was our first time meeting Clyde and he is a cutey. His party was filled with lots of surprises. Keri, Patrick, Brigette, & Garrett surprised us by traveling 8 hours all the way from Virginia. Aunt Donna was there. And Mike the Balloon Guy arrived to sculpt balloons for all the kids (and some of the adults). Check out the site - http://www.miketheballoonguy.com/

Pictured below is 1) Clyde eating his "sugar-free cake" and grabbing for the camera; 2) Keri, Brigette, Lisa & Clyde; 3) Alana with her Elmo sculpted balloon; 4) Garrett with his Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants; 5) Bridgette with Tinkerbell.

For more pictures of the party - go to the link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8490838@N08/?donelayout=1

Is That Lance Armstrong?

You would think he was Lance by the way my dad trekked up this incredibly steep hill. The picture does not do it justice - it was super steep and burned the bajesus out of our quads. When the weather is nice and I fly in by myself to Pittsburgh, my dad and I go on this bike ride all over South Park. It is about an hour bike ride that is one hill after another and it is a toughy. It is a very special time with my dad (even though he is about 50 feet ahead of me majority of the time) and it was an absolutely beautiful morning together biking.

Grandma Morse

My grandma fell last week and broke her arm. It isn't a bad break so we expect a quick and full recovery. In the meantime, she is staying at a rehabilitation home (sounds better than a nursing home) to help get her back to 'good as new.' We had planned to go shopping together (one of our favorite things to do together - even though she takes back majority of what we buy together) but instead I got to spend some QT with my grams just sitting and chatting. Say some prayers so she heals quickly. Or if your reading this and you live in the Burgh, go over and visit her and get her up and walking around.

My Little Japanese Princess

We had dinner at Benihana when I arrived in Pittsburgh for the weekend. And lucky for me, Jessie and Craig joined us (my extended family). Alana loves Benihana and we all can't resist the entertainment of the chef showing off his knife juggling skills while eating a sizzling hot shrimp flying through the air. We celebrated the May birthdays (Jessie & my mom) and Alana dressed up in her little Japanese kimono. She looked like a Japenese princess.

Events Captured For Jimmy

Jimmy - since you couldn't be with us, we figured we would share our fun-filled BBQ with you and a special tribute from Ava & Luke. We miss you as always and can't wait for you to come in for a visit.

Memorial Day Throwdown with Christina & Travis

Chefs Travis & Christina are on a secret mission: to challenge the absolute masters of eating (that's me & Brian) with different kinds of cooking. In each visit, Christina & Travis try to outshine the past meal with an award-winning menu. What they don't know is that we only came up with this "Throwdown" idea, not as a competition between the two couples, but rather to get better and better meals out of them every time we visit. And we must say that our plan has been very successful. Since they're in their element and we are always hungry - it all comes together for a magnificent evening.

This past Memorial Day, Christina and Travis had us over, along with Christina's brother (Mike), and our friends Gretchen, Mike & their son Dylan. They made the most mouthwatering fish & chicken tacos you could ever imagine. Travis said we must write a good review so here goes:

Since we all start by eating with our eyes, it would then be safe to say that our eyes were extremely satisfied with the meal before it even hit our mouths. As you can see above, the presentation of color & texture turned out to be picture perfect. The medley of corn salad was a refreshing side dish to the bold, spicy flavor of the fish & chicken tacos. The tomatillo sauce had a soft hint of apple, lemon & herbs and coated the chicken & palate beautifully. We ended the meal with an Adam's "American Flag" tribute to the day. An incredible evening to an incredible long weekend.

Where's The Beef

No really, where's the beef? We were invited to my dad's for a Memorial Day lunch BBQ. We were asked to all arrive around 11:30 for burgers and dogs. We all had arrived (including Aunt Roz) and around 11:45 we noticed there was no food in sight. Nothing to drink, nothing to eat. We got up to see if there was anything we could do to help, and then that is when my dad said, "I'm going to run out to get the food."

"What?" I said. "Wait, you didn't get any food yet?" "Are you kidding me?"

So Bob & Julie ran down to the Whole Foods to throw together something for lunch. They picked up turkey burgers, asparagus & some humus. No hot dogs, cause if you know Whole Foods, they don't have anything normal and filled with hormones and we couldn't see ourselves eating tofurkey hotdogs - EVER.

I grilled what would have been the worst BBQ lunch - but thanks to Ava & Luke keeping us all entertained, we had a great time together. See great pictures below.

Oh So Refreshing

Brian & I went out for sushi on Sunday after a fun filled day. The weekend was so beautiful and our drinks just captured the essense of how we were feeling. Nothing else to this post - just pretty drinks.

Our Weekend Ritual

Since the weather has been nice, Brian & I have been taking Val to her favorite spot in the world every weekend - swimming in the Wissahickon in Chestnut Hill. It is so fun to take her leash off a few yards before the entrance to the creek and then watch her run at full force down the path to then hear that big splash in the water. She loves it!

But of course, so do we. We hiked a lot this weekend - venturing down different paths and exploring through the forest. It has to be our favorite thing to do during the weekend and with the combination of the beautiful landscape, the sounds of the birds chirping, the cool breeze through the trees, & the smells of honeysuckle - it is a priceless event that feels like it's worth a million bucks.

Fun with Friends

We had our friends over for dinner - pictured below (Jean, Tom, Joe, Michelle, Brian, Quigs, and Rory). We ate, made s'mores, and then spent the rest of the evening playing games. Pictured below captures some of our fun playing Cranium and then we finished the evening playing Catch Phrase. Pictured from left to right, top to bottom - Joe & Michelle gearing up for their sensosketch. Quiqs & Rory laughing, Fireman Tom being a pyromaniac, Tom & Jean trying their hand in yet another sensosketch - which they never were able to solve, Joe's output of his sensosketch (stick shift), Brian helping us see the game at night, & Val passed out on the grass after a long day.

Maddie Turns 1

Brian and I had a whirlwind Saturday of 1 year old birthday parties. We spent the first part of the day at our neighbors and then headed out to Reading to celebrate Maddie's birthday. Madison in my friend Jenny's daughter.
A bit of history...Jenny is my sorority sister, we roomed with each other in the dorms, we went to England for school together and spent 4 months in a flat with a diverse group of girls, we traveled England & Ireland together, she hooked me up with my first job in Philadelphia, and she let me live with her and her boyfriend (now husband) while I tried to find a place to live in Philly. Net, net...a very good friend.

We hadn't seen Jenny and Rich for about 2 years since the family moved out to Reading, but we have kept in touch. It was so good to see her and the family. And Maddie was a doll on her birthday.

Mutual Friends

Our neighbor, Thomas, turned 1 on Saturday and Clare and Lee threw him a superb birthday party. Full spread of great eats and good company to celebrate 1 year. See picture below of Thomas.

And since Clare and Lee are friends with a former colleague of ours, Brian and I got to catch up with Diane and her husband Jim and son James. See picture below. Great time catching up.

Happy Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day at our house with Mr. Kenney, Bob, Mary, Ava & Luke. We had so much fun together and Brian grilled a rockin steak. We do wish Mrs. Kenney was here to celebrate with us & that I could celebrate with my mom in Pittsburgh ("Hi Mom!"). We thank our moms for all they have done for us to make us who we are today. Below are pictures from our evening - Uncle Brian & Ava, Luke & Mary, and then the pillow blanket on Val that Ava was determined to make.

Jasmine

Brian and I have (for the most part) lived up to our New Year's resolution of cooking dinners rather than getting take out - but once a week or so, we treat ourselves to Jasmine (the local Chinese food restaurant). It is always my job to jump out the car, run in and pick it up and because they are so fast at making the meal, it is always ready for me to pay.

This past week was a treat. I called on my way home from work but when I arrived, the food was surprisingly not ready. As I sat waiting for it, I couldn't believe the intricate wooden sculpture that I had missed in my hurry each time I ran in to pick up our food. I couldn't stop looking at it. It is a fascinating piece of work. I took this picture with my Blackberry so you obviously can't see all the holes they made for the coral or the sharp teeth of the piranha - but take my word for it - it is outstanding. Makes you wonder how many incredible things you can miss in your haste throughout the day. So lesson for the week: Stop and smell the roses. Or better yet...eat more Chinese food.

KKG Lunch

One of the best decisions I made was joining Kappa Kappa Gamma at Penn State. I made such amazing girlfriends and I just love the time I get to spend time with them. Meghan (who we haven't seen since 2003ish) came to Philly for the Broad Street run - and since Facebook has virtually reconnected us, it was easy to arrange a get together and catch up. Below is Jamie, Devon, Meghan, me, and Katie at Sabrinas in the city.